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A living brush stroke along the landscape

Kim Cook, The Associated Press

Friday, June 9, 2017
9:44:59 EDT AM

This beautiful purple garden on architect Peter Marino’s property is featured in his book The Garden of Peter Marino. Among the apple orchards, art objects, and hundreds of evergreens on his 12-acre property in the Hamptons of New York is a garden color wheel, with purple flowers at the north end of the property. (photos by Jason Schmidt/Rizzoli via AP)

Some of the most striking gardens aren’t a riot of multiple colours but a carefully curated assemblage of hues. Using foliage and flowers, gardeners can create drama and artistry.

A lake of blue salvia, perhaps. A swath of feathery green grass. The idea is to mass-plant so the colour becomes a living brush stroke along the landscape.

Architect Peter Marino used the technique on his 12-acre property in Southampton, N.Y. Among the apple orchards, art objects and hundreds of evergreens, his garden includes a “colour wheel,” with purple flowers at the north end, pink at the south, and red and mixed hues to the east and west.

Yellow is off on its own.

“The yellow garden is a separate, one-acre ‘room,’ bordered by European chestnuts and George Peabody arborvitae,” Marino writes in his new book, The Garden of Peter Marino (Rizzoli; $115). “I don’t care for yellow flowers mixed with other colours, so I planted them all together in what is intended to be one big explosion of colour.”

Melissa Ozawa, features and garden editor for Martha Stewart Living, says that when designing a colour block garden, “don’t just think about flower colour, but look at foliage too. For example, if you’re going to create a blue-themed border or bed, opt for plants with blue-green leaves like Hadspen Blue hosta, silvery ghost fern, or Frosty Blue agave, rather than varieties with golden or yellow undertones.”

Include a few versions of your colour, she says, to keep things from being too literal.

“If you want a yellow garden, don’t stick to one shade of yellow,” she says. “Choose a mix of hues, and even add a pop of orange, to keep things interesting. Choose vibrant chartreuse or yellow-green foliage, and look for cultivars with variegation, such as hakonechloa grass or drought-tolerant euphorbia.”

Or marry a couple of complementary colours, like greens and golds. Dwarf lemon cypress, Carolyn’s Gold mini hostas and All Gold Japanese forest grass positively glow in a bold and brawny chrome yellow ceramic pot.

Says the magazine’s editor, Kathy Barnes: “When you use a narrow colour palette — for plants and container — it’s nearly impossible to end up with an arrangement that doesn’t look sophisticated and pulled-together.”

As you plan a colour block garden, keep in mind your hardiness zone and seasonal fluctuations. Experts at your local garden centre should be helpful.

“Go equipped with photos of the space you’re planting, and know what kind of light your plot gets,” advises Ozawa.

“As with any border or bed, make sure you vary texture and plant heights, and consider the bloom time of each plant you’re adding. You don’t want a spectacular show in spring only to have it peter out and stop blooming once the weather warms up in summer.”